The Pros And Cons Of Transfer Students

717 Words2 Pages

Over the last 30 years, the number of students starting their journey towards the Bachelor degree in the community colleges has been increasing and by 2014 reached almost 50% of the undergraduate enrollment. (NACAC, 2014) This along with increased percentage of students seeking a college degree and a steadily growing transfer rate from the community to the 4-year colleges suggests that "community colleges are increasingly seen as a more viable pathway to the bachelor 's degree" and "motivate[s] most of the empirical research [of] ... transfer students." (Melguizo, Kienzl, and Alfonso, 2011) The debate over transfer phenomenon originated in 1972, when sociologist Jerome Karabel stated that social stratification is increased by community colleges (Tobolowsky & Cox, 2012; Hatton, Homer & Park, 2009) Some students have strong support system at home and take advantage of institutional support to achieve their educational goals. However, "evidence from nationally representative samples of students indicates" that transfer process can have a long-term negative effect on many students, suggesting that institutions need to improve and expand support services and programs to accommodate this growing student population. (Berkner, He, & Cataldi, 2002; Britt & Hirt, 1999; McCormick & Horn, 1996; Townsend, 2008 as cited in Tobolowsky & Cox, Both schools influence student 's success. The following factors, on the 2-year college level, are associated with the successful vertical transfer: full-time enrollment, student 's intention to transfer, earning a degree pre-transfer, GPA, transferability of credits, prior academic preparation, and engagement and support. (NACAC, n.d.) On the 4-year college level, collaboration and partnership with the feeding institution has been identified as the key to transfer student success. (Handel, 2011) B. Malaney discovered that student satisfaction increased when they knew policies of the receiving institution and interacted with advisors (faculty or staff) from both colleges prior to transfer. (Malaney as cited in Hatton, Homer & Park, 2009) Student connections with faculty, advisors, peer mentors, and other staff from 2 and 4-year colleges is another critical factor in a transfer student 's success. (NACAC,

Open Document